Mass Effect: The Silent War
by Jaqlin Traid
Summary: A collection of drabbles and short stories which focuses on those effected by The Reapers, The Council, Shepard or her companions but would otherwise be unnoticed or forgotten. Completely filled with OC and Head canons.
1. Jera's Shield

**Author's Note:**

 **This was written for a drabble contest sponsored by a Mass Effect Fan fiction site I am a part of. The limit was 1,000 words but I went over a bit. None the less, I hope you enjoy it.**

 **Read and Review.**

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She reeled back her arm, fists clenched, hot blood slick between her black fingers, and gazed at the horde of blazing husks hurtling towards their direction.

"We will die here." her partner spoke, pain evident in his voice; Even still, he was readying his weapon, a grin full of broken teeth. "Didn't even get the chance to see what all the fuss was about those damned scales." he eyed her suggestively.

Jera didn't even glanced back at the krogan behind her. Instead she closed her eyes, allowing her minds eye to search for the targets ahead. Each one was a dim point in her vision, but it was all she would need.

"One final blow for those who think themselves Gods!" she bellowed her prayer and slammed a biotic charge into the ground. Even wounded, her control was precise, a blue light flashed momentarily from her fist and ran into the ground, erupting into angry veins, their only escape was through the feet of the charging husks as they blindly trampled over the lines, the effects sending a fatal electric charge through their mutilated bodies.

Any who managed to get through her attack were quickly taken down by her friend with his assault rifle.

Staggering, she opened her eyes, her knees meeting the ground beside her fist, anger and dread filled her as she saw movement in the distance. "Drek..." she called over her shoulder while the Krogan knelt to her side, not needing to look ahead to know what it was she saw, "We can't say we fought well until they take out our last man. To end it here, like this..." he trailed off, motioning a large paw to the corpses of the fallen comrades around them.

Jera refused to look, refused to see the lifeless forms of her friends who had died only moments before to the monsters who plagued the human planet. She was tired of this war, tired of surviving battles, loosing team mates and being reassigned to units only to lose them again. But they both knew this was different, they had all seen The Normandy reached Earth's surface and fly out again, had all seen the Crucible which had crashed into the dark earth, enter orbit once more.

This would be the last battle, the woman who everyone had expected to lead all of the allied races to victory would succeed or everyone would die, no not even that mattered.

What did Jera care about the success of the Spectre; Of the fate of the world when she knew she would not live to toast to something so glorious.

"This may sound strange...coming from someone like me Jera." Drek grunted while pulling the older drell to her feet and held a hand in the small of her back to keep her steady, "but I was in love with you until I saw you on the battle field."

That was a bit strange coming from a war hungry krogan, however she knew Drek was anything but that. He was forced into this war much like she was. A krogan who dreamed of being a scholar, an astronomer, couldn't be called a krogan at all.

At least according to his battle master, he was sent with a unit as an asset to the war in hopes of being "re-educated" or killed in battle with a worthy foe.

"Your love for me left once you saw me on the battle field...why is that Drek?" she tried to sound coy, but it proved difficult with taste of fresh blood filling her mouth.

"Are you familiar with the story of Ara'shu and her consort?" he asked, eyeing the new horde of husks and scions that were beginning to make their way to their position.

She knew it all to well. Surrounded by demons and Gods who would see the warrior of protection fail, her escort Frior sacrificed himself as a shield while Ara'shu made her escape into the heavens. "If you're shooting for something symbolic, I guess you have it right. Am I to be Frior? Sacrificing myself for the freedom of the galaxy? Is Shepard supposed to be Ara'shu?"

Adrenalin faded the pain from her wounds, was now melting away the exhaustion that leaded her limbs. She could near the sharp cries of a banshee from behind them, maybe only a few meters away. They would be taken in this next wave.

A shield, in her final moments, if she could be anything, she would rather not be simple fodder, but a shield to her people, for her loved ones. If she only bought them a few more minutes, a few more seconds, it would be enough. For now, it would have to be enough.

She braced her legs, spread them shoulder width a part and took a deep breath. She clenched her fists and held them to her sides and stretched her head back.

Reaching for an energy deep within her, she thought of the one person who had been her motivation for power all this time.

Her thoughts were full of Shira, her younger sister.

She closed her eyes and the music that was Drek's battle cry flowed beautifully with the rapid fire of his rifle. She sent a biotic ripple forward into a crowd of husks, pulling one of their limp corpse in front of her while a abomination fired into her person.

Dropping the body, her right leg extended forward, anchoring into the ground while she lunged and turned into a spin, her left leg remained free, another biotic charged released it's embrace from the limb and sent an arc into the group of maunders that thought the duo would be easily flanked from their right side.

The scythe formed from her kick dispersed into smaller black spheres upon impact, stasis anchors, picking up stray husks that brushed passed their brethren in an attempt to over take the odd pair, as they floated above their heads, Jera slammed them, full force into the earth below, a satisfied shiver ran down her spine; Or was it exhaustion finally settling in?

"A shield, a shield." Jera could hear Drek's grunts as he spun out of the direction of an oncoming cannibal and slammed it's fleshy head into the ground before sending a spray of bullets into it's skull. "How dare you lower yourself to the simple use of a shield!" he roared, loosening a grenade into the general direction of the south.

The answer to the wanton attack was a choir of screeches, a song filled with colorful screams, however it wasn't long before they found themselves, backs literally pinned to the wall of a downed shuttle that had failed to extract them earlier.

The shrill sounds of a banshee grew ever close.

Jera's red eyes shot open, in the distance she saw what had seemed to be a pulsating blue light from from the distance, too bright for her to recognize through her biotic's eye. "Drek..." she breathed, but krogan only replied with a laugh.

"The love of my life, subjects herself to that of a mere shield." he looked down at the drell, with scales as dark as the unforgiving nights on his planet and eyes as red as his own blood, she was the only one willing to accept him as who he was, a failed krogan.

He saw the reaper forces sub come to the light that flashed behind them, his field of vision was further and larger than his drell companion, but he also knew that unless he bought her some time, she would not escape, the enemy would reach them before the light killed them off.

He grabbed her by her frill and jabbed a finger into its underside, watching as she collapsed, her face full of horror and betrayal, the last thing he would see; his final memories. Drek grinned and kissed her forehead before laying her down and looked towards the light, "Allow me to become your shield, Oh Goddess Ara'shu." he spoke the chant that was most common to drell warriors who were to face their deaths in battle.

Their eyes met after he spoke, and she understood. She couldn't stop him, she couldn't move.

Jera could only watch as Drek charged all the grenades on his person and ran full force into the horde that would take their lives.

The explosions went off, and a few seconds later a warm aqua light killed the rest of the creatures that had them surrounded.

The groans and protests from the larger reaper ships filled the air in a crescendo that signaled their defeat, a glorious victory, but it could not drown out her cries.


	2. Cari's Star

**Author's Note:**

 **This was motivated by Catch A Falling Star, originally by Pere Como. The one more in tune with this fic is the version sung by Nina Wall. I suggest listening to this while reading Cari's story.**

 **Please read and review.**

 **Thank you for your support.**

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It was supposed to be the best day ever.

Cari's mom promised her that today they were definitely going to go the zoo, after all she did well in school and got all B's on her report card, that was the deal, do good in class and Cari's could have whatever she wanted on her seventh birthday.

When she woke up that morning, the little girl found two things waiting for her in the blue chair next to her matching desk, a large white teddy bear with a pink ribbon and a large pink box with a yellow ribbon.

She could hardly believe her eyes, it was the exact same teddy she saw in the store a few weeks back, she knew well not to ask her mother for it though, all she would have gotten was a "Maybe next time Cari, or maybe for your birthday if you're good."

To be honest, it wasn't the rejection that bothered her, it was the little hint of sadness that crept into her mother's eyes when she asked for something they couldn't afford.

That's when she decided, to make sure to get good grades and to get into the best schools so she wouldn't make her mother worry anymore, and then she could buy her mom anything she ever wanted, but then things changed soon after.

They moved from the colony and back onto Earth, and at first it was strange, to see a big blue sky and smell real air. To touch water than came from the ground and without the dangers of toxic exposure, or the limitations of being in a hazard suit in case the colony's ventilation system malfunctioned.

There were animals here, not just dogs and cats but lions, and elephants, cheetahs and giraffes! When she found out that she could see them whenever she wanted and for free, she begged her mom to take her to the zoo, and she did.

Today was the day!

Cari quickly scrambled out of bed to get a closer look at her new toy, its large black eyes made a audible click and they flashed open, showing two glowy blue irises. She squawked and jumped back when it began to move from the chair and stand on its two pudgy feet, it was as tall as she was

"Hello!" it cheerfully greeted. "I am Ruby, your new friend!" the bear nodded its head with clear excitement and moved the box that was placed beside the chair. "The mother has asked me to give you this message when you awoke."

There was another click, and it's blue eyes flashed red, "Good morning Sunshine, I hope you like your new friend. You're turning seven today! So I thought it was time to get you your own VI unit. I'm sorry I couldn't make it this morning for your birthday, I was held up at the hospital, but Ruby here will make sure you're properly dressed, fed and will take you to meet me at the zoo so we can spend the rest of the day together. There will be rules of course with Ruby, but we can talk about that in person. I love you and happy birthday!"

Cari couldn't believe it, she actually had her own VI unit. Not just a teddy bear but a real friend whom she could play games with and talk to whenever she wanted. She hugged Ruby tightly, "Oh I love you!" and giggled when it hugged her back gently, but then something felt off.

Her arms suddenly grew cold, and she couldn't stop shivering, there was a numb feeling in the back of her throat. "What.." she gasped and fell to the floor her eyes training on Ruby's red ones. She reached for the bear's hand, "Ruby, call momma..." she pleaded, but it made no indication that Cari had been heard. The light in her eyes grew brighter, white, and then suddenly Cari was blinded.

When she came too, she saw that the light hadn't been Ruby's, it was from the end from some device, being waved back and forth in front of her eyes.

"It looks like she's coming out of it." a unfamiliar voice, and male spoke. Close to her person and standing over her.

As the blurs cleared she could make out the white tiles of a ceiling, the sanitized smell that reminded her of the time spent in a hospital, waiting for the end of her mom's shifts.

At the thought of the word "mom" her heart lurched forward, as if trying to rip from her chest, an audible and rapid beep matched its rhythm. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes but she held them back, along with the memories that came from that nightmarish day.

"I think that's enough for now. Her brain activity is fluctuating, most likely due to the stress. Have you tried talking to her?"

"Yes, but she doesn't respond much. That's the earliest memory I could touch near the event..." a woman's voice this time, but Cari didn't try to look, she didn't care who it was. She didn't want to close her eyes, didn't want to sleep, didn't want to go back, to see her momma...

She whimpered as her own thoughts trailed, but quickly halted them in place, her hands trembling from the force of her clenched fists. Her palms rang with pain, felt sticky and her nose was soon assaulted with the smell of something strong and metallic.

A larger hand grabbed her own, unnaturally cool.

She looked at the woman who spoke earlier, and stared into her blue eyes. She was an asari, that explained the dream, explained why she had fallen asleep and had remembered something so painful, "Why are you doing this?" Cari asked, her throat crackling and dry.

The asari smiled down sympathetically, "Sweetie, we found you after the attack but your VI was damaged and there was nothing left to identify...We're just trying to figure out who you are, and who you belong too. Do you know where your family is? What about your mother?"

Another heart lurch. She couldn't take it, but the only thing that kept her sane though this all soon came flooding into her mind and with it a sense of something dark and warm. Her vision clouded, and she couldn't see anything, but she could hear, and the sounds were magical. Her mother's voice filled her mind with a familiar melody.

"Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket, never let it fade away." Cari could feel her own lips move in sync with her mothers melody, but she couldn't hear own voice, she didn't need too. All she needed was her momma's voice. "Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket, save it for a rainy day."

Nis'riena sighed as the child lapsed back into her mental protective shell. "See what I mean?" she looked back at the dark haired doctor, who nodded grimly while looking between his patient and the charts, "How long will she keep doing that?"

"Until the song ends. Then she cries and falls asleep, from there I kinda ease in and see what happens. She may not be willing to talk, but her brain is still processing everything that happened. She never stays asleep for too long though, subconsciously she senses me and wakes up."

"And this happens all over again..." the doctor finished for his nurse. "I wish we could leave her alone, but the brass is certain that in her memories could be information that can help find a weakness against the Reapers, she is after all the only one awake from the attack."

Nis'riena frowned, her attention drawn to the small body of the child. They had been at it for hours. The VI was relatively new and only had two contacts programmed into its emergency data file. Cari's and her mother's Tina Eclair, Tina was no where to be found, so many bodies were so baldy charred that everything had to be identified via DNA scanner, and with so many missing people it was taking longer than it needed to.

She'd hope that once the child awoke she'd been able to identify herself properly but every time they even tried to touch the topic she would just slink back into her own little world, singing this little song.

"A lot of the nurses are from the local area and monitor the children from the district school, maybe they know something about the song she's singing?"

"Yea..." the pediatrician sighed, "we can start there, but whose to say she wasn't on a field trip, or just visiting relatives. I'll ask my boss to check anything we have on her ID number, maybe it'll pull in something. For now, keep at it. The amputation went well and with luck we can have her fitted with a bi-pedal prosthetic within the next few months. She's still at risk for rejecting the heart transplant, so don't strain her too much..."

But what was too much for this little girl? She should be resting, and have a full team of doctors and therapists assisting her, but they were being hit too hard on earth, everyone was being spread thin and even their back up resources were starting to run low.

Nis'riena placed a hand on the child's right leg, right above the cauterized stump. It was a sad world, when all the Alliance cared for was the information this girl carried in her mind, and not her personal well being. She knew they weren't wrong, what was one little girl to so many lives?

The singing stopped, and the girl was sound asleep, the medicine the doctor placed in her IV line finally taking affect. Nis'riena sighed and prepared to dive back in.

Cari couldn't have been happier, inside the box was a soft pink sun sun dress and a large white hat, almost as big as a pizza. She brushed her teeth and quickly got dressed while Ruby worked the kitchen assistant to prepare her birthday breakfast, strawberry pancakes with whipped cream and strawberry syrup!

She was in complete bliss, Ruby didn't give her much time to finish her whole meal. Soon the bears eyes were flashing red, indicating that if she didn't hurry she would be late for her day with momma. "One minute please!" she shoved what she could in her mouth and drank her orange juice as fast as she could, putting the food in the fridge for later and hoping up the stairs two at the time.

"Cari, The mother had said that is dangerous to do, please avoid life threatening behaviors." she couldn't resist rolling her eyes, of course her momma would make sure to tell Ruby everything to look out for.

She grabbed her hat, and took the yellow ribbon from the box and snipped it in half with a pair of craft scissors from her table. "One second!" she called down when she heard Ruby's squeak filled footsteps coming up the stairs.

She took a few sea shells she found on a field trip and tied them on the ends of each ribbon and then used them to tie her hair in low pigtails. When she was done, she turned and found Ruby staring at her, the color of the lens purple this time and growing bigger and smaller.

"What are you recording Ruby?" she asked after climbing down from her chair.

"The mother has asked me to make record of anything that met certain parameters, file has been saved in the cute and crafty folder. Cari we are running late for our meeting."

Cari felt a bit flustered at the thought of being recorded, her mother used to always have a camera around before her crazy hours, so she supposed she would have to get used to it with Ruby. "One sec." she opened a drawer and grabbed a smaller hat that was like her own, but with a black ribbon. "Where this one Ruby, then we can match!"

Ruby stood still and tilted her head to the side. When Cari offered the hat she grabbed it with her paws and placed it on top of her head, while Cari tied the black ribbon under the bear's chin to make sure it wouldn't be lost if it fell.

"Okay! Are you ready?"

"I have been waiting for you Cari. I am ready." Ruby smiled and Cari grabbed her hand.

It was amazing to see Ruby in action, everyone stopped and giggled at the large walking teddy bear as they made their way to the subway station. With a scan of her eyes, Ruby paid for the train tickets and kept track of all the stops until they arrived at their destination, while they waited, Ruby chatted with Cari, and for a moment the seven year old forgot that her bear was only a VI, but that was okay, she was going to be her friend.

They had made it to the entrance of the zoo safely and Ruby was able to track down her momma using a GPS chip that was installed. Cari looked a head and standing a few yards away she saw a woman with long brown hair and a pink sundress, almost exactly like her own. She was waving a white sun hat with a yellow ribbon, "Cari! Over here!" she heard her call even from the distance.

"Momma!" she jumped excitedly and grabbed Ruby's hand to make her way towards her, but she never made it.

First there was a loud thud, some people stopped at the sound and others continued to walk by.

Ruby stopped in her tracks, her hand now around Cari's wrists, "Emergency, danger. Danger."

"Ruby what are you doing? Momma is right there! Let go." she pulled but the bear wouldn't budge.

There was a terrifying sound in the air, she couldn't describe it, but then followed a sudden suction, it was as if time stopped and then there was a red light. Her mother was smiling, then there was red light that engulfed her. She dissolved into nothing and Ruby pulled her back, but it was too late. There was pain, a searing pain in her, she couldn't feel her legs. She couldn't see anything.

She remembered feeling Ruby's hand, but then there was nothing, everything went black.

"Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket, never let it fade away..." there was a familiar voice that made her heart wrench. She wanted to open her eyes, to see that it was her momma singing to her to awake her from a bad dream, just like she always did.

That's right, this was all just a really bad dream, her mom was waking her up, telling her it was all over.

Cari opened her eyes and to her heart wrenching surprise, it was Ruby, sitting in a chair beside her. Red eyes glowing as it played the recording.

"Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket it, save it for a rainy day. For love may come and tap you on the shoulder some starless night. Just in case you feel you want to hold her, You'll have a pocket full of starlight."

Cari almost didn't speak, her eyes burned from the tears that threatened to fall. She sniffled which stopped the bear from its current task. Ruby looked up and placed a furry hand on Cari's shoulder, "The mother instructed me to play this audio file if certain parameters were met. You were having a nightmare." it moved it's hand in a slow circular motion, in the same way her mother did.

Cari smiled weakly, but her heart hurt so much she didn't trust herself to much else without crying, "Can you sing it again Ruby? Until I fall asleep?" she asked wearily, the slow sounds of the monitor behind her lulling her to sleep. There was a small beep as she began to play it again, yet some how, her voice sounded just like her momma's and she continued where she left off.

"For when your troubles start multiplying, and they just might. It's easy to forget them without trying, when you have a pocket full of starlight."

The heart monitor's slow rhythm transformed into long tone as Ruby finished. Her eyes turned from red and back into her original blue, the heart monitor continued it's ring, altering anyone to the loss of her friend, but Ruby kept singing, even when no one came, Ruby just kept singing.


End file.
